One day you think you have life all figured out, then the next thing you know ... BAM! Tom Waits on the old iTunes. For some reason, Waits has that effect on people. Well, maybe it's just on me. Here's some songs from Waits' catalogue that I heard the other week and haven't been able to shake since. Perhaps it's the singer's gruff-nasal tenor or maybe it's the words that he writes. It's not common to find a songwriter like Waits that, ever since his early days, he has sounded like a man that has lived and seen more than any troubadour before him. With the exception of Dylan, of course. But unlike Dylan, the characters that appear in Waits' songs are purely bottom of the barrel. You know they've had their chances but they never made a proper go of it; squandering it all for the bottle. But you listen anyway, hanging onto every word, because if they make it, well, then so can you.
I'm also including a cover by Neko Case of "Christmas Card From a Hooker In Minneapolis," which might be my favorite cover of all time.
Tom Waits - Christmas Card From A Hooker In Minneapolis
Tom Waits - Martha
Neko Case - Christmas Card From A Hooker In Minneapolis
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